Do not go more for Pokémon

Pokémon.Photo: pixabay.com

The mobile game Pokemon Go did not get young adults to move more, according to a new study. Following increased activity at first, the level of activity in most went back to the normal after six weeks.

The first week after downloading players walked an average of 955 extra steps a day, researchers at the US Harvard University found.

The study followed 1,182 adults aged 18 to 35 years, and for most of them, the activity level after six weeks went back to what it was before they embarked on monster hunting.

– We are in the beginning stages of understanding how these types of games can have positive health benefits. They give people a reason to go out and socialize, says Kathryn Howe, one of the researchers behind the study.

The game has been downloaded over 500 million times since its launch in July, and it was also popular in Norway.

Both Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Liberal leader Trine Skei Grande are among the politicians who have used mobile phones to catch Pokémon, and in September acclaimed healthcare minister Bent Høie the game’s technology.

– I’ve been a little disappointed that the Minister of Health, because Pokémon Go has done more for public health this summer than I have been able to do in three years. There is much to be gained by adopting the new game, also in terms of health, said Høie then.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today